Semiconductor memories comprising resistively switching elements for storing information are being developed to an increasing extent. One possible embodiment of such resistive memory cells is the CB contact, which is also known as CBJ (CBJ=“conductive bridging junction”). This utilizes the formation of a conductive channel in an insulating carrier material. Such a memory cell can be programmed, i.e., written or erased, by applying suitable voltage pulses. CBRAM memory arrangements are based on the CB memory cell.
Other possible resistively switching memory technologies are polymer-based memories or the phase change RAM (e.g., based on GeSbTe, germanium antimony tellurite), in which a resistance that is dependent on a crystal structure is utilized.
When reading such memory cells, it is necessary to determine the resistance of the cell. A small space requirement and a high access speed are demanded for practical applications in memory circuits.
The technologies discussed above have only recently arisen or been researched with regard to the possibility of their commercial application. Neither read-out methods nor read-out apparatuses, which satisfy the present-day and the expected requirements of commercial utilization, have hitherto been disclosed for such memory cells.
In view of this deficiency of the prior art, an apparatus and a method suitable for reading from a memory arrangement, in particular, for reading from a CBRAM or another memory arrangement based on resistively switching memory cells, are desirable.